Category: Charlotte

Restaurant Week Winter 2018!! I’ve managed to hit 3 (or will) this week. Chillfire in Denver, The Foundry in Denver and Fiamma in Charlotte. Oh be still my heart! Fiamma was so worth the wait. I’ve had it on my wish list forever! It is authentically Italian, probably some of the best I’ve had in this area. Their fish is flown in daily from Europe and they hand make all of their pasta.

Fiamma is also open for lunch Monday through Saturday, so you can try it during the day if you can’t make it for Restaurant week or forget to make reservations at night. You can easily make reservations online through Open Table, though, so don’t forget. This place is hopping!

The service here is top-notch. I found all of the staff to be kind, knowledgeable and prompt. I felt cared for, but never bothered. This is a true accomplishment during harried Restaurant week!

Let’s talk about the food. YUMMM!

When you sit down, they bring out a plate of fresh bread and crunchy bread sticks to dip in this luscious and tangy pesto. If I had a big bowl of that pesto and a hunk of bread, I think I’d be happy. It was so good!

St. Germain Coctail: Prosecco, St. Germain liquor, on the rocks with lemon and lime.

Refreshing and crisp, this is my favorite cocktail ever. Reminds me of a sweeter mojito.

This was a perfect hearty warm salad. The calamari was tender and not rubbery and provided a perfect canvas for the avocado and tomato to give it such flavor. The girls were mostly impressed with the party hat on the lemon, though.

This was my first course, and it was lovely! A basic salad, but sometimes that’s just exactly what I want, a simple salad, with fresh ingredients that are all perfect. This hit all of the marks.

Then came this palate cleanser: orange sherbet. I was charmed 🙂

MAIN COURSE

Veal Ossobuco (Fiamma’s Specialty) – braised veal shank served with a side of saffron risotto

This was the best dish of the night. The veal was so tender it fell apart with a touch of the fork. The sauce it was simmered in was so flavorful and rich, you could tell it had reduced for hours. The one blight on the meal was the saffron risotto. It was so salty, it was inedible. No, we didn’t send it back. Restaurant week is super busy and we were seriously enjoying everything else so much it became an afterthought.

Branzino – Mediterranean fish stuffed with fresh seafood and served with spinach, potatoes, and asparagus

This was my selection. It was incredibly hardy. I couldn’t believe how much seafood it had, especially during restaurant week! They truly don’t skimp on portions. The wine sauce was light and really let the homemade pasta and seafood stand out as the stars. I took most of it home and it was even better the next day.

As most foodies know, a large part of the dining experience is the service. If the food is magnificent, you can get away with slightly lesser service, but Cajun Queen wasn’t tasty enough (but it was good!) to counter the experience of bad service.

The free valet is a nice touch, because parking is a beast around there. The hostess was busy but seated us kindly. Then the waiter showed up. He seemed put out with us, but as the night progressed, it became clear that he might have been irritated with a loud party behind us, because he became slightly less aggravated when they left. The second bummer of the night was where we were sitting seemed to be a hugely traveled path for people coming and going all night long. I was bumped every few seconds all night long. Tiresome. Though this did help:

The food. The food was good. Some of us had yummier food than others, but we all agreed it was just fine.

This Seafood Gumbo should have been blowing my doors off with flavor, but instead it was just okay. I was a little disappointed with the mildness of it. Needed something.

I had the Crawfish Etouffee and it was really too similar to the gumbo. I should have made a better choice. But, it had the same problems as the Gumbo, being too bland. I guess I just expected more.

This is Chicken Diane. It’s a sautéed breast of chicken with mushrooms, green onions, Cajun spices, garlic, butter and parsley. All served over rice. Though it was pretty rich, it was a solid dish.

Dessert was again, fine. There really weren’t that many choices, so I chose pecan pie. It was fine, presentation was pretty lame. I know, what can you do with a slice of pie. But 3 or 4 puffs of whip cream from a can has to be one of the least fancy ways to dress it.

We may try it again, perhaps we were there on an off night? I do like to give a few chances before writing a place off, but this night was not a good showing for this landmark Charlotte restaurant.

I’ve had my eye of 5 Church for quite a while. Quiiiitttteee a while. I’ve always pushed it down on my review list because the pictures looked like it was too hip. Too young. Too loud. Well you know what? It was all of those things. But go anyway, because the food is amazing. But while you are perusing the menu, order a drink:

#1: The Cocktails

The Ivey Cocktail was my choice of cocktail for the night. It was sweet and light, with citrus vodka, orange liqueur, grenadine and cranberry juice. Very fruity and refreshing! The server was very knowledgeable about the bar offerings, as well. I told her my likes (fruity, not too strong) and she recommended the perfect concoction.

#2 The Appetizers

Behold the Shrimp Flatbread. Handmade dough, baked and topped with juicy shrimp, boursin cheese, arugula and red onion. Perfectly simple, and every element is perfectly executed. The bread is chewy with just a little bit of a crispness on the outside and a little salty. The shrimp are tender and sweet and cut into bite-sized pieces for ease of eating. The boursin cheese is perfect on this, adding enough herbaceousness to bring it all together. That and a salad would have been perfect.

My friend had this pretty salad. The Bibb Wedge. Bibb lettuce sprinkled with grape tomatoes, peperoncini and bacon and drizzled with a balsamic reduction and a tangy gorgonzola dressing. It was a little tangy for her, but I didn’t taste it. Looks gorgeous, though, right?

Reason #3 The entrée

Yeah, so four of my 5 reasons are food. Shoot me.

The Maryland Crab Cakes are a decadent treat ; chock full of lump crab meat with just enough filler to hold it together. And they were baked, so not oily at all. A dream! The cake is resting on a squeeze of red pepper emulsion and a scallion aioli. It was served with roasted broccoli, tomato marmalade (so sweet and tangy, perfect with the delicate crab) and a pancetta crisp, which was salty and provided a nice texture.

Reason #4 The Dessert

If ever there was a “signature” dessert at a place, this is the one. It is a S’more Trifle. Gooey brownie layered with chocolate ganache and topped with a toasty creamy marshmallow cream and a graham cracker crumble. It alone is worth the visit. Simply amazing.

#5 Celebrity Spotting

In addition to many other awards, 5 Church has been voted as being a most likely to spot a celeb spot. Celebrity diners include Cam Newton, Brooklyn Decker and heck, the chef was on Top Chef!